


A Series of Mistakes

by MissFay7



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series), Starfinder (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Aliens, Blood, Death, Despair, Disease, Exhaustion, F/F, F/M, Gangs, Gen, Human Patton, Injury, Loss of Control, M/M, Morally Grey Patton, Other, Poison, Poisoning, Quarantine, Skeletons, Teen Pregnancy, Vehicular Accident, Violence, absent father, cursing, mind-control, nervous breakdown, space, venom - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:28:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26417977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissFay7/pseuds/MissFay7
Summary: Patton is a single father, a xeno-biologist, and the only medic on Maui's Inspiration, a spaceship crewed by 4 explorers charting new life in previously unknown territory.  In just under two week's time, only one of those three things is still true.Now he's a planet-hopper doing odd jobs to make his way.  And he's about to run into some /very/ odd people.
Relationships: Familial Moxiety, Platonic Moxiety - Relationship, platonic Moceit
Kudos: 6





	1. Patton's Backstory

**Author's Note:**

> This is Patton’s backstory for the Starfinder game I’m about to enter. Patton is a charismatic medic/xeno-biologist. This prologue might turn out to be longer than the sessions themselves, but we’ll find out together!

Patton is a single dad. A stupid attempt to fit in when he was fifteen changes his life forever. He convinces the girl, Midge, to keep it and to let him have custody of the baby boy after he's born. They name him Virgil. He and his family raise the child together.

Patton's parents help out a lot, taking care of the boy while Patton finishes school, goes to college, starts his career. He never lets go of his passion for studying xenobiology and other cultures. He's rarely in contact with Midge.

In Virgil's last year of high school, Patton is calling him up on the ship’s comm’s to see how he’s doing, just like he always does. Virgil’s face on the screen looks alert and calm. Behind him, Patton catches a glimpse of the docks.

“What are you doing down there, kiddo?” he asks, smiling. “Nice haircut, by the way.” 

He already knows Virgil sneaks down to Botscrap sometimes, to see his friends and get into just a little trouble. His parents keep him up to date when he’s out on assignment, and he’s long since accepted that he can’t enforce a curfew from lightyears away, so all he does is withhold judgement and try to show his son how much he cares through a tiny digital display.

“Oh, just meeting some pals in a few minutes.” Virgil’s walk is fast and bumpy. 

What he doesn’t know is that Virgil has been going to Botscrap to salvage parts, far too many of which “feel off a truck” somewhere, and he’s been getting familiar with the residents in Downlow. Not only that, but Lhana “Diamond” Nokoriso herself has taken him under her wing as a black-market runner and he’s the absolute best at finding whatever she, or any of her many unsavory clienteles, happens to be looking for. He’s only eighteen, but pretty soon he’ll be making more than his own dad. Not that his dad ever has to find out about that. He bounces along a swinging metal bridge.

“Are those- wait, are you at a casino? That looks like you’re in one of those clusters in the Armada.”

Virgil looks hard at the screen for a second, raising an eyebrow and smirking.

“Pop, how would you know that?” he jokes.

“Virgil, be careful! There are gang members that visit those casinos, you know.”

“I _know_ , dad,” Virgil drops the phone a little and runs a hand down his face, and that’s when Patton see it; a little diamond-shaped tattoo just under his chin. His skin goes cold.

“Virgil. You-” Patton’s voice is tight, and Virgil gives him his full attention for the first time this call. “-you joined a gang?!”

Virgil stops walking as he realizes the slip up and he stares wide-eyed at the comm.

“Dad, l-”

“They _kill_ people, Virgil! They- they- they fight wars and kill each other and break the law for breakfast! What are you thinking?!”

Virgil looks down and puffs out his cheeks before responding with a rush of air. 

“Well, I been meaning to tell you I got a job.”

“For the _MOB?!_ ” Patton screeches, blowing out the comm speakers. Virgil grits his teeth and flinches away from the phone. He brings the screen back up, but if he’s grinning or grimacing, it’s hard to tell.

“I mean, they’ve got great benefits.” 

“What the _fuck_ , Virgil!” 

“You can curse?” Virgil’s grin is instantly replaced with shock.

“It’s too dangerous! We have to get you out, oh my goodness, oh holy hamburgers, what the fuck, what the fuck!”

“You cursed! Again!”

“Son, kiddo, listen to me. Turn right back around. Go home right now and forget this whole business-“

“I can’t do th-”

“-there’s still time, we can get you a new job, your gram said there’s an opening at the florist’s down the-”

“Dad-”

“-street, or- or-”

“Dad! I can’t do that!” Virgil takes a deep breath against the way Patton is scrambling to make his decisions for him. He can feel the anger rising anyway. “I can’t do that. I made a commitment. I can’t back out now.”

“Son, don’t let them manipulate you! They can’t look after you! They don’t care abou-”

“And you can?” Virgil snarls and Patton stops short, confused.

“Can what?” he asks.

“You can look after me? Can you? Cause, I’m looking around,” and Virgil spins in a circle, blurring the screen image, “and I don’t see you.”

Something tightens Patton’s chest. He starts to ask something, say something, but Virgil cuts him off.

“In fact, I haven’t seen you in a while. You’re hardly ever in the same _solar system_ as me, let alone the same house. And I can’t just keep moping around the house, waiting for daddy to come back who-fuckin-knows when!”

Patton blinks, a lot, his teeth worrying the inside of his mouth. He’s leaning too close to the comm, searching his son’s face, trying to understand, trying to recognize-

Virgil looks up at something off screen.

“I gotta go, pop.”

“Wait!” Patton shouts at the screen as it blurs and falls dark.

~~~

Patton tries calling back again, a third time, a fourth time, eight times that day. He calls again the next day, and the day after that, and calls the house and talks to his parents, and calls again later that week. Virgil doesn’t answer. Sometimes he’s there, his gram says. But he won’t come to the phone, not yet. Patton just smiles and nods and says, “That’s okay. I can wait.” And he calls again the next week, and every week for months. 

He calls on Virgil’s birthday, thinking, this time for sure. It’s been long enough. This time, he’ll get to actually speak to him and not just hear his voice in the background over mom. Because even that’s been happening less and less. Mom says he hasn’t been around as much lately, but she had made sure to give Virgil the gift he’d sent. 

Virgil doesn’t come over that day.

Patton stops calling.

~~~

Patton stays in contact with his parents, getting updates on all the little goings-on of station life when the ship is in range. He comes back to his room one day to find a message waiting for him. 

It’s mom’s face. She’s crying. He thinks for a minute he can’t hear her, and rewinds it to play again.

There was an explosion, down by the Core. In the Downlow. 

Where Virgil had been staying.

It might have been a turf war. Or maybe just a random faulty generator. It’s not like the infrastructure down there was very good. Patton can’t figure out which is more likely, because the blood is rushing to his ears, and a pain in his hands makes him realize how hard he’s gripping the console. Shaking, he looks around the room, searching for something he can’t name. 

His eyes fall on his journal, the one where he writes down all the unsolved mysteries and clues about alien life that the scientific community hasn’t proven yet. He thinks about one mystery in particular. His pet project, really. The one he’s been chasing down for a while now, and how he was looking forward to convincing the crew to head that way once their work here was done. 

They hadn’t had a proper break between assignments in a while. It was going to be fun, but it was still months away.

He thinks about how solving that mystery was supposed to be his big break through. 

That night, Patton puts a new ingredient in the food. It was his turn to cook anyway. He gets so focused on getting the portions correct, it takes him a second to realize someone just asked him a question.

“You okay, man?” asks Darrin.

“What? Oh, yeah, just thinking about something.” Patton gives him a weak smile.

“Thinking about what you’re gonna send Vee for his next birthday, I bet! You always get him something good. He’s gonna be twenty-two next month, right?”

“Yeah!” Patton’s voice cracks a little, but that’s okay. 

“Ah, don’t worry, Pat.” Darrin put a hand on his shoulder. “He’ll come around eventually. I’m sure of it.”

Patton just nods and gives him a hum in agreement.

~~~

“Whoo, Darrin, buddy! You are burning up!” Patton’s voice is muffled. He’s fully decked out in a quarantine suit as he wipes a cold cloth across his crewmate’s forehead, Darrin, who’s lying in bed for the third day in a row. “Good thing you’ve got the _coolest_ medic in the solar system by your side!”

Darrin chuckles.

“You’re the _only_ medic in this solar system, Pat.”

“I know, I know. That’s why we’re going into the Drift today, to get you to a proper hospital back in Absalom. Your fever’s only gone up since yesterday.” Patton gave him a little cup of pills and a glass of water, helping him sit up to drink. 

“I still say it’s a waste,” Darrin protests. “I’ll be better in no time. We’ve got work to do out here!”

“Hey, don’t you worry about that, Captain’s orders. Sarka's calculated the risk, we just have to trust her. I still haven’t been able to figure out what’s got you so sick, which means that if the rest of the crew catch it, we’re gonna be in a bad way. You can barely move as it is.”

Darrin grumbles something petulant but smiles at Patton as he’s closing up his med kit. 

“Thanks, Pat. Can’t wait to see everyone again when I get better! Tell them ‘hello’ for me from the Containment Field. I must be pretty contagious!” Darrin laughs at his own joke, wheezing a little at the end.

“Containment, ha! Of course, I’ll tell ’em. I’m sure you’re not all that dangerous, but better safe than sorry. And you are pretty!” Patton sticks his tongue out at him as he closes the door to Darrin’s room, waving goodbye for now. 

“Beep boop,” he says to himself as he locks the door from the outside.

As Patton walks down the empty corridor to the next room down. His footsteps echo loud and metallic.

He reaches the door and knocks, entering the code without waiting for a response. He strides over to the person lying in the bed and takes a cloth off their forehead. 

“Whoo, Mel, buddy! You are burning up! I’ve got just the thing.”

~~~

Patton is about to try something dangerous.

He looks around at the scatter instruction manuals and tablets of notes he'd gathered the last few days. In front of him is a console, one he's rarely used. His hand hovers, shaking, over the controls. He's been shaking a lot lately, but by now he's used to it.

The bridge is empty except for him and his plans. It has been empty for more than a day, the last time being when Captain Sarka stumbled in shouting orders to herself despite her fever. Patton had barely caught her before she woke the others, struggling to pull his quarantine suit up in the hallway. He'd guided her gently back to her room and reassured her everything was under control before locking her door shut with the codes she'd provided in her delirium the night before. He'd only just figured out how to change the input. But that was all over now.

Now, Patton sits alone on the floor of the bridge amid a sea of buttons and readouts he only barely knows how to use.

"I know how to do this. I know how to do this!" He tells himself. "I've just never done it before, but that's fine. I'll just enter the Drift, by myself, for the first time, and it'll be fine."

He takes a deep, calming breath.

~~~

Alarms are blaring as Patton steers the ship hard into the ground of an unidentified planet. He grimaces as the hull tilts right, a screeching sound as the metal scrapes against the rocky terrain. In the background he can hear shouts from his crewmates. Someone's banging on their door, yelling at him, they're always yelling! 

He focuses on landing the ship.

The immediate relief of exiting the Drift after a harrowing six days had been ruined when he realized how close they were to the planet's pull and quickly lost control of the ship. Of course, this implies that Patton has had control over the ship while in the Drift, which would be a lie. He's never been a very good liar, and his crewmates are not dumb people. Especially not Captain Sarka. Not to mention the exhaustion of coming up with increasingly elaborate ways to get food into their rooms without letting them escape. He hasn't slept the last two nights at least.

By now, all their Patton-induced symptoms have worn off. They must have been communicating with each other somehow (or they all figured it out separately, he wouldn't put it past them) because they'd all stopped accepting his "medicine" at some point and now they were all much too energetic and angry for his liking. 

Patton puts this all out of his mind and braces himself as the ship violently grounds and spins itself around a few times before coming to a hard stop in the dirt. 

Racing to his room, Patton grabs his pack and bolts for the airlock. Captain Sarka is screaming at him through her door again, and he hears a loud clanging. Did he not grab all her weapons?

He clicks his helmet into place and slams the button, leaping out the door before it even fully opens. 

~~~

Patton finds a cave. Inside, there's a broken-down ship a few centuries out of style, small clusters of bones, some shoddy graves, and a warm bubbling pool… 

"They're here. They're really here!"

Kneeling, he scoops a small slug-like creature out of the pool with a net, and watches it wriggle in his palm. It glistens in the strangely yellow artificial light of the cave; the solar-powered light fixtures installed in the ceiling long ago are partially covered by stalactites now. He stares at it, breathing hard. If the rumors were true…

He takes off his helmet and holds the creature up to his ear. A glance at the readings had told him the atmosphere wasn't necessarily good for a human long-term, but it would be breathable for a few minutes at least. The creature slowly investigates the side of his face, probing around cautiously. Patton feels dizzy and tries to calm down. 

Without warning, the thing surges into his ear canal and pain erupts on the side of his head. Patton finds himself writhing on the floor, accidently kicking his helmet away. The back of his mind briefly wonders how the polymer face shield can sound so much like a bad wind chime, skittering across the stone of the cave floor. Suddenly, his body goes limp. 

He stares up at the ceiling, unable to do anything else. Tears are falling from his eyes and sting when they reach his left ear. He can't lift a hand to wipe them away. A voice flickers into being inside his mind, intentions and feelings coalescing into unique meanings. 

_"_ _♒⮹ ♑❒⧫♓■♑⬧ ◆🔾■ Oh, he_ _🔾 lo. Oh, but you're a_ _♒_ uman _! How_ delightful _. I've only ever heard stories…"_

 _"Why are you here, Patton?"_ They ask absentmindedly, already going through Patton's memories to find the answers. Patton's body doesn't move but, inside, he wastes no time responding.

 _"I don’t want to be here anymore. I don’t want to- I don’t want to be_ me _anymore. Not without him. I can't, please- please! It hurts. You be me instead. Do whatever you like. I don't want to think anymore."_

The creature seems to ponder in silence for a moment. A foggy, sort of pleasant cottony feeling falls softly over Patton's mind and he stops crying. 

_"Let's begin,"_ they whisper sweetly.

~~~

When he returns to the ship a few hours later, all the emotion is drained out of him. He looks vaguely confused and more than a little defeated. 

"They aren't here," he says.

Darrin is just looking at him, silent since his return but Sarka is yelling. What's she saying? He tilts his right ear toward her. She grabs his arm and starts dragging him down the hall. He doesn't fight her, barely noticing the mangled door that she must have pried open to get out. They get to Mel's door and that's when he sees her; Mel, lying dead in her quarters bleeding from her head, the blood pooled around her already drying. The rough landing, he killed her with that landing. It's his fault. 

They lock him in his room while they repair the ship and re-enter the Drift to head home, dumping him and all his stuff on the dock at Absalom Station. They don't turn him in. They can’t. 

Darrin looks down the gangway at Patton standing there surrounded by his bags, lost, and he thinks about how they had all known Virgil and watched him grow up together. How the boy was often on short trips with them when his schooling allowed it, and how Patton had talked about him every day. 

How they had found the message in Patton's room while he was on the planet surface, and several more messages from his parents, unread. 

Officially, Mel's death is blamed on a crash landing during planned exploration. The ship's logs are updated with false information. No one is quite satisfied by this decision, but neither do they argue.

~~~

Patton sells some of his belongings to get by. He spends the next couple years planet hopping, doing odd jobs for food and board, traveling as far and wide as he possibly can. The farther the better. He doesn't contact his parents once. 

Every crew he's with will tell you he's a hard worker and an expert in his field, but uncomfortable to be around. Something about him is disconcerting. He notices too much, smiles too much. He never talks about his past, but if caught in the act, he will gladly talk all about the handful of aquatic creatures he illegally stole off a planet a few years ago and now keeps in a modified fish tank. 

"I can trust you, right?" He winks. "Aren't they cute?"


	2. Session 1a - Making Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton makes some new friends in a strange jungle. Unfortunately, they attract danger like moths to a flame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a retelling, not a transcription. I realize it may seem overly confusing, but none of the characters have introduced themselves yet, so if Patton doesn’t know their names, you don’t know either.
> 
> Starfinder words to google for your own clarity: kaukariki, yaruk, vesk, lashunta, ysoki, vracinea
> 
> Characters, for clarity: Patton, his brain slug, a human, a Vesk, two Lashunta, and a Ysoki

Patton is in the jungle. It’s not a bad jungle, as jungles go. Birds are tweeting, kaukarikis are chattering, and insects are prevalent. He kneels beside some tracks, taking notes on his wrist comm. 

A faint baying sound is rumbling in the air, but he doesn’t pay it any mind until a truly cacophonous crash about a klick to the right brings him to his feet just in time to see a cloud of birds erupt from the jungle canopy. He stands still watching the horizon for a minute, but no other sounds come forth.

 _“What do you think?”_ he asks the creature in his brain.

 _“Well, we’re_ certainly _making quite a lot of progress here, wouldn’t want to ruin our streak of good luck,”_ they drawl. Pat can feel the sarcasm pressing behind his eyes. _“Could be something interesting.”_

 _“When you’re right, you’re right,”_ Pat agrees silently, shifting his pack and headed toward the ravine on his map.

~~~

Peering through the foliage, Patton spies a ragged group of people, panting and bandaging their wounds between some trees. Two native Lashunta, an android, a Vesk, a Ysoki, and a fellow human. The birds are just starting to settle back down and restart their conversations. A few yaruks can be heard bleating on the other side of the ravine nearby.

 _“Let’s help them!”_ Pat starts to walk forward, but finds his muscles no longer obey his commands.

 _“No.”_ The creature scolds him. _“Wait.”_

They glance up to see a few kaukarikis watching the group as well, with more gathering by the minute. Curious.

~~~

They aren’t the only ones to notice the growing crowd. Among the strangers, an android stares up at the monkey-like creatures in the trees. Bright pink polymer hair and neon green accents decorate the robot. They stick out against the foliage like a poison frog.

“Less than medium size, red faces, webbed forearms, stingers on their tails. These are-”

“Sting bats!” one of the Lashunta break in. They’re wearing survival gear and a pistol on their hip.

“-Kaukarikis,” the android finishes. It seems like they might sigh if they had lungs. “They’re venom causes a slow paralysis. One is no threat, but several…”

Everyone looks around, including Pat who realizes an angry looking kaukariki is glaring right at him.

 _“Then again, safety in numbers and what not,”_ the voice concedes.

Patton steps out into the open.

“Y’all having a picnic or something?”

~~~

“Who are you!” An intimidating Vesk stands up to face him, rifle drawn. A large hammer is strapped to their back.

“Sorry, I heard the, uh, bridge collapse, apparently.” Patton gestures vaguely beyond the group at the now impassable ravine, huge gouge marks leading toward the edge. He was going to have to update his map. “I came to investigate.

“Oh, yeah,” the Vesk glances back. “You missed out on a fun stampede.”

A string of squeaky curses can be heard coming through the android’s comm, and they turn away to talk quietly into it. The whole group of strangers tighten up and whisper amongst themselves for a couple minutes. Patton waits and watches the kaukarikis grow increasingly more agitated, ears twitching from their treetop perches. Finally, the huddle breaks and the android approaches him with a blank face.

“We are members of the Starfinder’s Society,” they explain.

“You out here alone?” The larger Lashunta asks him, this one with a pistol _and_ a knife.

“Oh, you know, it is dangerous,” Pat responds smoothly, “but sometimes I go solo on the smaller jobs to save money.”

The human grunts and pipes up now. “I appreciate your honesty. At least you’re not blasting us with nose sounds.”

“Ah, you agitated the yaruks, then?” Patton smiles knowingly. The native herd animals could kill with their calls alone.

The group exchanges some indecipherable looks between each other. The Vesk speaks up.

“We're kinda on a mission here.”

“Oh, sorry, I don't mean to intrude, I just didn’t expect to run into anyone out here!" Patton puts his hands out in front of him in polite defense. "Guess I just wanted to take advantage of some socialization while I had the chance.”

The sting bats are hooting and howling now, the trees are riddled with them.

“We should leave,” says the android. The smaller Lashunta eyes Patton’s get up.

“Leaving you alone out here would be akin to murder, so…” They look around at the others. The Vesk grins wide, scaly skin stretching back to reveal their sharp teeth.

“I guess you're coming with us!”

Pat doesn't need the added motivation of the kaukarikis growling behind him, but they growl anyway.

"Alright!” he says. He enters the perimeter of the group, keeping one cautious eye on the trees.

~~~

Pat and his new travel companions start walking through the jungle to try to leave the kaukarikis behind and to get closer to something they call the “rune obelisk". Much to Patton’s dismay, the human fires a warning shot into the trees every once in a while, scattering the creatures. This only seems to incite them more each time.

The kaukarikis are agile, hollering and posturing at the group as they continue on. It’s a tense couple of hours, but the creatures will grow tired eventually. Right?

A distinct square pillar rises up over the horizon. Stones along the path turn into ruins, hundreds of years of wear evident in the crumbling structures. The group enters a clearing, and the kaukarikis are positively enraged. They’re pushing each other forward, as if goading each other to attack. Several jump down from the trees.

“Can I ask, uh, why we’re entering the scary sting bat territory?” Patton doesn’t take his eyes off the creatures.

“We have to,” the human grunts.

“Okay…”

“Also,” the android adds. “They appear to have followed us, which is strange. I doubt we could lose them at this point.”

At least six of the kaukarikis have dropped down now and are creating a vague perimeter around the group.

“Their behavior is abnormal.” The android says as they extend two additional arms from their torso and take a defensive stance. Patton spares a glance at the neon colored marvel but goes positively bug-eyed when the knife wielding Lashunta charges at the nearest kaukariki and starts firing their pistol.

They hit one on the first try and all hell breaks loose.

 _“Oh, good. They’re idiots,”_ the slug whispers to Patton.

Kaukarikis are swarming them now, stinging tails bashing against tempweave armor amid animal calls. Random expletives, including “fuckin’ monkey!” rise up over the din. Patton dodges a stinger as machine gun fire goes off a few feet away and he slaps both hands over his ears. The other human just nearly shot him! 

At least two of his new friends have already been stung and, knowing what comes after that, Patton steps back and joins them in firing on the wildlife. This needs to end fast.

Laser pistols and pulse cannons are firing in all directions and one of the Lashunta is stumbling from the venom’s effects. They trip and fall for a second but drag themselves back up and keep fighting somehow. The animals howl at them from the trees each time one of their fellows falls to gunfire. 

In a few seconds, it’s over. Their attackers are dead and the rest of the creatures still in the foliage don’t seem like they’ll be coming forward any time soon. The android sinks to their knees beside him, sparking. Patton kneels and inspects their dented panels. Everyone takes a few minutes to catch their breath amid hostile hoots and growls. The midday sun is bearing down on them.

~~~

Minutes pass and the rest of the kaukarikis have backed off by now, booing the group. They are wary and watch from a safe distance. Patton feels like they just won an important battle, but not the war. He sets to work trying to administer some first aid to the others. Unfortunately, anti-venoms had been deemed unnecessary during his last resupply. 

The effects of the sting bats’ venom are apparent now, as somehow only Patton got through the fight unscathed. Even the android took some hits but, of course, for them the issue is not the venom, but the dents to their plating. The smaller Lashunta is breathing hard, laying on their back on the ground and trying not to throw up.

The larger Lashunta wanders the perimeter and starts scaling a tree. Everyone is too tired to stop them. If they get lost in the jungle, that’s on them.

“Look what I found!” They climb back down a degree later and reveal two scuffed serum capsules. “The other group, they must have passed through here.”

 _“We could just leave, you know,”_ the slug reminds him. _“This lot is trouble.”_

_“The wildlife seems a little hostile right now. Strength in numbers, right?”_

“Another group?” Patton asks, eyeing the capsules. “Do your lot often fight with the wildlife?” 

“Only when there's wildlife,” the human gives him a dangerous smirk.

“When they start it!” The Lashunta shouts at the same time.

“Didn't one of us fire first?” He blinks innocently at the big loud, knife-wielding, tree-climbing Lashunta. They squint back at him.

“So, what’s up with this obelisk?” The Vesk interrupts their contest of wills. The Lashunta joins them to stare at the pale grey pillar.

“Halkueem Zan, didn’t he talk about this obelisk?” the Lashunta reminds them.

The android studies the monument from afar, analyzing it aloud.

“It is not a rune obelisk. It must have had a physical function at one time. It’s tall, perhaps a watchtower? There may be a room inside.”

Patton stays close behind them, keeping one eye on the sting bats. The Vesk up front surveys the area for signs of the other party passing through.

“We’re on the right track,” they confirm, straightening up from the ground.

The big Lashunta spies something sparkling in the ruins. They begin crossing the field, looking all around only to pause as a strange sensation pulls at their mind. Almost like a forgotten smell. They shrug it off.

“Smells weird over here, y’all,” they shout over their shoulder. As the others explore the edge of the ruins, Patton pats the smaller Lashunta on the shoulder, telling them to stay put and goes to join the large one. Glancing up at the obelisk, he catches sight of a deep green vine trailing up the stonework. Next thing he knows, he’s running full speed toward the monument.

 _“Stop. What are you- I said, ‘stop’! What’s happening!”_ The slug screams at him, but he can neither hear nor obey as he runs headlong into the ruins.

“Hey?” The Lashunta calls out to him as he sprints past, their arms stuffing a bag full of found items.

“HEY!” Patton screams back at them, only stopping once he gets to the monument’s edge. The vines are thick around the base and prevent him from getting any closer. Not that he wants to.

Patton stands before the vines, gazing deep into the foliage. The compulsion fades, but he finds that he’s frozen to the spot. The scent of pollen is heavy in the air.

_“Patton! I command you to move away from the obelisk this instant!”_

_“I can’t! Why can’t I move?!”_

Several yards back now, the other human is eyeing the newcomer, brow furrowed. They take a few slow steps forward, reloading their gun and glaring at each tree in view. The android sends a still image of the scene to an unknown third party with the message, _“we made a new friend”._ The large Lashunta is still calling to him.

“You okay, bud?” They look down at theirself, but, yeah, everything feels fine. It’s only the new guy that’s acting weird right now.

The only response is the sound of birds and sting bats chirping in the trees. The Lashunta approaches him where he stands like a statue, knees and eyes locked. They reach out and put a hand on his shoulder, tugging lightly, then shaking him when he doesn’t react. His body wobbles like a mannequin. They grab his other shoulder now, too, and try to physically drag him away. 

They barely get an inch.

The Lashunta realizes the vines beneath them are moving. Strands shoot up, whipping the ground. A wild jumble of vines and tiny flowers flail around them, followed by a large bulb barely balanced above the mass. Spiny teeth line both sides of the plant’s ‘face’. Horrified, the Lashunta watches it move fast and inexorably toward them and engulf Patton’s head. They make no move to protect theirself as their body locks up just as Patton’s had before he was eaten. The hungry lobes of the plant are down to his shoulders now.

_“We’re being eaten!”_

_“I can see that!”_

_“Do something!”_

_“You do something!”_

The slug examines Patton’s brain frantically. Synapses are firing wildly, stinging like static shock. Histamines are being sent to the sinus cavity autonomically. All the muscles are screaming, locked tight by an involuntary flex.

_“Fuck!”_

Outside the maw of the plant, people are closing in. Guns are firing at will and someone is yelling. The android’s analysis is the only calm thing heard over the scene.

“Vracinea. This native carnivorous flora lures its prey over with a yet unexplained compulsory effect, then paralyzes them with spores and digests them. It is not particularly weak to any form of attack.”

 _“There!”_ The slug locates the cluster of newly formed neurons in the hippocampus and slams into them. Metaphorically speaking.

“ARGH!” Patton nearly collapses from the sudden release of his muscles and wrestles the plant lobes off of himself, the spiny cilia tearing at his skin. He trips and scrambles away over the writhing vines all around. When he joins the smaller Lashunta by a tree a safe distance away ( _when did they even come over here?_ ), he has only a second to notice the being is transfixed by a dark red flower deep in the vines. Another puff of spores shoot out from it and Pat realizes the Lashunta is paralyzed, too. They’re trembling slightly, muscles tight and a thin sheen of sweat on their green face. Looking back at his attacker, the other Lashunta is also just standing there, trapped under the beast. 

His heart is pounding and Patton realizes he's hyperventilating just as a fuzzy feeling slows his racing thoughts. His limbs begin moving without him, turning him to face the threat. He hardly notices; the blanket in his mind is too tempting.

 _"I'll handle this,"_ the slug tells him, pushing his consciousness fully under the wave. The scene around him feels more like a video now, and he turns his mind away from it.

_"Thanks, Janus."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The session was fairly long so we're splitting it up! We already played Session 2, so more content is definitely forthcoming.


	3. Session 1b - I'd Rather Not

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kaukarikis - Space Monkeys  
> Vracinea - Lure Plant Creature  
> Ksarik - Pack Plant Creatures  
> Halkueem Zan - some bad guy, Patton’s still catching up, ok?
> 
> she/her: -e/ya  
> he/him: -i/yo  
> they/them: -i/ye  
> it/its: -e/yin  
> none: (no ending modifier)
> 
> This is a retelling, not a transcription.

_ “Thanks, Janus.” _

Janus’ face twists into a cold focus. He grabs his pistol and starts firing careful, timed bursts and the other fighters still in control of themselves do the same. The vracinea makes no sounds when their shots hit, but its latex sap starts pouring from the wounds and its vines become frantic. They all desperately hope that means it’s dying.

A particularly large electrical blast from the android seems to knock the large Lashunta loose, because they gasp and start running. The creature gives chase but five of them are shooting it now and before it can attack again its smoking corpse falls with a strange flutter and a crunch.

The human walks up and spits on it before sitting hard on the ground. 

“I am so done with nature,” says the android. Someone grunts in agreement.

Only a few seconds pass before the smaller Lashunta is shaking their head and backing away from the foliage in disgust. No one says anything to them. Janus gives them a questioning look, still catching his breath, but they just blink a few times and join the rough circle of people that has formed to rest. 

“Thank you for not letting me die,” Janus says to no one in particular. He touches the scratches on his neck lightly, wincing. 

“You’re welcome,” says the small Lashunta. 

“I would not wish that fate on anyone,” adds the android. “To be eaten by a plant… pitiful.”

Janus looks at each of them in turn, these new companions of his. The human catches his eye and stares back for a moment, squinting hard at him. Janus’ lips twitch in an aborted smile and he lets his gaze slide away to the next person.

The large Lashunta and the android are studying the plant together. The android narrates their findings. 

“The plant was not originally part of the structure’s design.”

“Oh, was it not? I would never have guessed.” The human scoffed, leaning theirself back against a fallen tree. The android continues as if nothing was said.

“This obelisk was a watchtower. Non-magical. Sargorssk, would you?” The android looks at the Vesk and gestures. They- Sargorssk- seems to know just what to do and draws their sword again to start hacking the remaining vines from the structure. Once the surface is revealed, the android starts up again.

“There is ancient elven script here. “Warning. You are approaching Loskialua, monastery of starsong, embassy of the spheres, and Temple of the Twelve. Messengers and other visitors pay respect to the beyond.” It says something about purity of the mind.”

“So, we should think pure thoughts?” asks the large Lashunta.

“Indeed,” the android confirms. “I suggest you think about soap.”

A few feet away, Janus is struggling with his med kit. He  _ knows _ it’s in here, he just can’t  _ think _ right now through all the pains shouting at him. He startles when the small Lashunta appears beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder. Janus makes to remove it, but a warmth blossoms from the touch and travels up and around his neck. The cuts around his throat and head tingle and disappear. It lasts only a few seconds, and then the Lashunta gives him a smile and pulls away. Their hands part and Janus realizes he had been holding onto them throughout. He stares as they walk back to their travel pack and sit.

_ “Oh, we’re keeping that one,” _ he decides. 

~~~

The group keeps moving. The kaukarikis glower at the survivors walking through their territory. They drop rocks on the group when they aren’t looking, but always retreat when confronted. They’re just trying to be irritating. 

They make camp when the sun sets and the android strikes up conversation.

“How did you survive before…?”

“Things were a lot quieter before you came around. Y’all are bad luck.” Janus smirks. “This is the worst mission I’ve ever had here!”

“That may be true,” Sargorssk chuckles. “Are you sure you want to travel with us?”

“Well…” he draws it out just long enough to make everyone laugh. When it dies down, his back is to them and he’s setting up his sleeping bag without a word.

The next morning sees another day of travel. The infernal kaukarikis keep trailing the group, a hostile presence ever at their back. Janus sidles up to the android.

“What’s your mission, anyway?” He asks.

“We’re rescuing a kidnapped scientist,” they reply. The large Lashunta nods.

“How very heroic!”

“What’s yours?” The android’s eyes look through him.

“Cataloging species and their populations, but I’m more than happy to help rescue a fellow scientist! It’s hard out here, we’ve got to look out for each other,” says Janus. 

“You’re welcome to stick with us as long as you like,” says the Vesk.

“Yes,” says the android. “We could use the firepower.”

The day after that they encounter a creature called a ksarik. A grey-ish-green four-legged creature with a tail and tentacles that twitch back and forth like a cat. Everyone’s guns are raised when that thing tops the hill. It disappears into the foliage, leaving only tension behind.

It appears again and again throughout the day, sometimes behind, sometimes to one side or the other. Sometimes it moves impossible fast.

“Are there now two?” asks the android.

“Maybe so,” says the small Lashunta. “They hunt in packs.”

On the fourth sighting, it doesn't run away again. Instead it walks up to them, examining them, quivering with interest. Probing. It gurgles. Janus is taking notes with great interest.

“Domash,” asks the android. “Can you speak to this thing?”

The small Lashunta, Domash, squints for a moment.

“Yes, actually, it’s a type of fungus. Don’t know how I forgot that!” They laugh at theirself, stepping forward just a bit.

_ “Why here? What want? Me friend.” _

_ “Want... Host...” _

It launches a projectile a hundred feet across the field straight at the android.

A scream, a metallic screeching, and the android staggers. A thorn is protruding from their shoulder, the panel cracked. 

The human takes aim and fires, the rest of the group following suit. All but the large Lashunta. They look around the field. There! Another creature, coming up on their flank. Thorns fly from it as well, sinking into the Lashunta’s leg. Then they flee.

“What the fuck? Where are they going?” asks the human. Domash looks at them, alarmed. 

“Their shots hit. They think that all they have to do now is wait us out. The spores…” They look at their companion ripping the thorns out of their leg.

“We have to keep moving.”

Several times throughout the day, the creatures return to check on them, to fire more thorns. No matter how many times they get shot, they flee only to return without a trace of damage. The android tries to give chase, but they evolved within this jungle. It’s impossible.

Janus tends to the large Lashunta’s wounds that night at camp. It’s unclear if he’s helped, but they seem in higher spirits the next morning.

Another day, another several hours of being followed by kaukarikis, hunted by ksariks, and by the end of it Sargorssk and Janus have both been infected as well. The other human lowers their gun after the fleeing creature and eyes Janus’ wounded arm.

“Oh, no, not our long-time field medic pal…” they deadpan. Janus glares in return.

~~~

“Y’all know where you’re going, right?” Janus asks on the fifth day of travel.

The android stops in their tracks.

“What gives?”

A body is laying on the ground ahead. Janus looks for signs of movement.

“It’s one of the cultists,” the android explains. “One of the kidnappers.” The human already has a gun raised. 

The android steps closer, and the cultist sees them and screams.

“Devourer, stop this pain! I am ready for you!" They pull out a gun but their arm cannot lift it to shoot. Zin moves closer to the bulky Lashunta cultist, examining their wounds. The human joins them, restraining the person. It hardly seems necessary.

“They will not last much longer.”

“When did this happen?” Domash approaches to question them. They can only mumble, barely coherent.

“Time is… what? I…”

“Should we, I don’t know, help them?” Janus gestures vaguely. The human is patting them down for any more weapons. 

“Or,” they pull out an incendiary grenade out of the person’s bag. “We could kill ‘em.”

The android gently lifts the cultist’s head to place on their lap. They speak calmly.

“You heard the man, tell us what you know or we’ll kill you.”

“I’m as good as dead already.” The hostage’s eyes dart around, landing on Domash. 

“Wait, are you a healer? Can you help me?! Please! I’ll tell you anything!” They gasp.

Domash kneels, casting a spell of healing over them as the android begins a line of questioning. The human backs up and mutters to Janus.

“We should just feed ‘em the grenade before those spores bust out. This is a waste of time, bet.”

Janus briefly appreciates that Pat isn’t listening to this.

An hour later, the android leaves the cultist’s side.

“Here’s what we know. She is from the Cult of the Devourer. There’s no reliable information about the cult on the database. Her leader is a man named Tommen. The scientist was with them, but the group left her behind when she was infected by the ksariks. There are a dozen more members guarding the scientist.”

“Are we gonna heal her just to have to lug around a prisoner?” The human asks.

“We don’t have to take her with us,” says Sargorssk.

“Then why is Domash wasting its magic- hey!” The human grunts as the android grabs them.

“They’re back. There are more now.”

~~~

Pistols and laser fire explode over the clearing. Janus ducks behind the large Lashunta, patting them on the back. 

“Go get ‘em, champ!”

“Hey, yeah,” they don’t dare take their eyes off the targets. “That’s inspiring and all, but maybe you could actually do something?”

“Ah, yes.” Janus pulls out his pistol and fires two shots, each one missing wide. The Lashunta blinks.

“Never mind.”

The fight ends when Sargorssk throws a grenade at a ksarik, causing the last hostile fungus to erupt and douse everyone nearby with spongy viscera. The large Lashunta scrubs their face and throws a piece on the ground, stomping it into the dirt. Domash helps the android knock a panel back into place and the rest of them stand there panting, covered in goo.

“It’s in my hair.” Janus mutters. Somewhere behind them, the cultist groans.

~~~

Cleaning themselves up a few minutes later, Domash slaps Janus on the back and smiles.

“Well, you lived this long, maybe it’s time we made formal introductions?”

“Oh, thank goodness.” Janus leans toward it. “I waited so long I thought I’d missed my chance. I’m Patton Nufunder. You can call me Pat-iyo.” 

“Like the furniture?”

“Never heard that one before.” Janus quips.

“I’m just teasing. Domash-eyin. Pleasure to meet you.”

“I’m Sargorssk-iye Vint.” The Vesk walks up to him showing far too many teeth. 

“I am called Zin-eya,” says the android. Right behind her the large Lashunta waves.

“I’m Veritae-ya Vyon!”

There’s a silence, followed by everyone looking over to their human companion. The one that’s been with them all along. They sense the eyes on them and stop polishing their weapon to look up.

“Don’t refer to me.”

“Okay, then.”

“Just do me a favor, eh?” The human asks him. “Don’t die. Fair?”

“Fair.” Janus nods. Sargorssk pulls him aside.

“The point is, Pat, we’re gonna be in danger for a while. Not sure you want to stay with us.”

Janus mentally pokes the sleeping Patton in their mind. He doesn’t stir.  _ To be honest, I’m not sure either, but right now this body is sick, probably got a couple infections, and traveling alone like this is somehow still more deadly than sticking with you lot. _

“Don’t worry about me, Sarg. I‘ll be fine.” Janus shrugs him off.

“Well, then, welcome aboard! Maybe you’ll actually get to see our ship at some point.”

A scratchy signal coming out of Zin’s head interrupts them. She’s playing a live message from someone.

“I’ve made it across t-- ravine. What --- ---- -- with these monkeys? There’s dead monkeys all ova’ the place. Why are they tryna kill me?”

“They started it,” she replies in a neutral tone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back.

**Author's Note:**

> 10 points to whoever guesses the third secret fandom this is based on.


End file.
